Suncor Syncrude Project to Be Fully Operational June Onward

Canadian mining giant Suncor Energy Inc. SU announced that the Syncrude oil sands project in Canada will resume production at its full potential by the end of June. We would like to remind investors that Syncrude’s production was suspended due to a fire on Mar 14.

Suncor announced that the damage caused by the fire was not extensive and was mostly confined to a pipe rack near the hydrotreater. However, one worker was seriously injured in the incident.

Suncor, with its 54% stake, is the majority owner of Syncrude. The company stated that the pipeline shipments will resume operation at 50% capacity in early May and by the end of June production will reach its full potential. Syncrude is expected to produce 5.3 million barrels in May and 6.6 million barrels in June. Interestingly, the plant has potential to deliver nearly 11 million barrels per month.

Syncrude is a joint venture producing synthetic crude oil from oil sands. Located in Canada outside Fort McMurray in the Athabasca Oil Sands, it has the capacity of producing 350,000 barrels of oil per day, which is equivalent to about 13% of Canada's consumption. Syncrude has around 5.1 billion barrels of proven and probable reserves.

Suncor is a world leader in mining and extracting crude oil from the vast oil-sands deposits of northern Alberta. The company is also engaged in the exploration, development and marketing of natural gas. Moreover, it operates a refining and marketing business in Ontario and is actively involved in the development of renewable energy sources. The company is headquartered at Calgary, Canada.

Price Performance

In the last six months, Suncor’s shares have outperformed the Oil and Gas –Canadian – Integrated Industry. During this period, the company’s shares appreciated 2.69%, while the industry witnessed a decrease of 1.38%.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Suncor currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked companies from the oil and energy space include Crescent Point Energy Corporation CPG, Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE and Antero Resources Corporation AR. All these companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Crescent Point is expected to record 30.09% year-over-year growth in 2017 sales. The company had an average positive earnings surprise of 127.16% in the last four quarters.

In the current quarter, Cenovus Energy is estimated to witness year-over-year sales growth of 96%. The company had an average positive surprise of earnings of 74.89% in the last four quarters.

Antero Resources is likely to see year-over-year sales growth of 8.88% in the current year. The company had a positive average surprise of earnings of 239.10% in the last four quarters.

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